Articles by Patricia Simms

All of us have different recollections, experiences, wisps of some common er, something that we think is special and unique. Yet, somehow, there’s that mysterious common thread we didn’t even know was there, let alone shared

I can’t remember the last time I was so mesmerized by any production of any play
as I was by "Proof" at Oil Lamp Theater

How long has it been since you have sat spellbound in your seat in a theater where the conflicted “truths” are so scrambled you don’t know what to believe? Whom to trust? This is what theater is meant to be!

This year, Oil Lamp Theater is off to the movies!! A mix of old and new favorites starting with Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon, the opener of Oil Lamp Theater’s 2016 season! What an upbeat choice! No shortage of hijinks here

The Oil Lamp Theater started with the film’s charming story, added their unique sense of humor,amplified Mr. Potter’s meanness, sanctified George Baily and had us all on the edge of our seats until Clarence got his wings! YAY

“Lone Star” and “Laundry and Bourbon”–– billed as two plays about small-town Texas life––skillfully deliver on the promise. It’s exactly the way I, with my feet firmly planted in the Midwest, picture it

The Actors Gymnasium’s Circuscope Winter 2015 bills itself as “entertainment that flies.” Does it ever! It flies in the face of imagination, flies in the face of gravity, flies in the face of reality! Come fly with me!

Drop everything and make plans to see THE ODD COUPLE. What a romp! Two woefully incompatible roommates (I know married couples like this, too!) demonstrate the power of friendship, the joy of companionship and the benefits of learning to get along

You may have decided that this is surely a play for “Senior Citizens.” I say "Death Tax" has truth and wisdom for everyone alive. It goes to the very core of the great question, the meaning and value of life

Location, location, location! is typically associated with real estate. But, in the case of Le Pavillon Des Lettres Hotel in Paris, it makes all kinds of sense, especially if you visit Paris the best way possible—on foot

It is my sincere and somewhat extravagant wish (We did, after all, just come back from France!) that this review will give you some of the same pleasure(s) we experienced on the magnificent miles of France

Days Like Today is a crazy, mixed-up love story that makes a whole lot of sense while revealing and reveling in the nonsense of love. It’s fresh, funny, insightful, happy, sad and, above all sympathetic.

“Notes from Hollywood,” a charming musical marriage of the Music Institute of Chicago, lovingly paid tribute to Hollywood movie music of the 1940s and ’50s. And we, the spellbound audience, were delighted to be invited

“Notes from Hollywood,” a charming musical marriage of the Music Institute of Chicago lovingly paid tribute to Hollywood movie music of the 1940s. And we, the spellbound audience were delighted to be invited

THE DANCE OF DEATH is an emotional roller coaster ride without a winner or loser. It has the power to transport you to a different emotional time and place. Don’t miss this mesmerizing evening of theater

If you haven’t seen Gypsy at Chicago Shakespeare Theater yet, I hope you’ll want to rush out and buy tickets after you read this review. If you've already seen it, you may want to go back and see it again

Even if it were difficult to get to The Actors Gymnasium—it's not, it's at the Noyes stop on the Purple “L” line—it would be worth the trip to see The Magical Exploding Boy and The Invisible Circus. Don't miss it

Don’t miss this remarkable piece of great theater craft, philosophical discussion of justice, patriotism, humanity, morality, what the heck—throw in human kindness and a powerful anti-smoking demonstration

This 59th GALA at Lyric Opera of Chicago was a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. But for we opera goers—ogling the literati and glitterati—it was a senstational prelude to the musical feast of Otello and a promise of a magnificent season

We’re vacationing in Scotland this summer, so we’re looking forward to the opportunity to sample the culture while we’re still at home. Thought you, too, might want to enjoy some Scottish Culture this summer

Bold, sexy, proud, deliciously daring. Looks so fashion forward you can’t fully appreciate them without looking back--all the way back to 1958. Before Martin Luther King. Before Women’s Liberation. Before Black Pride. Before Michelle Obama

Silent Witness is a non-profit program to help citizens assist law enforcement in solving crimes. Citizens remain completely anonymous and are paid cash rewards up to $1,000 when information they provide leads to an arrest or indictment

Although this seems like it should be a simple, straightforward tale—it’s just a birthday party, after all—after a while everyone seems to be at least a hypocrite, delusional or a flat-out liar. It is so clearly unclear

Since Side Effects May Include was written by Seinfeld writer Marc Jaffe and Emmy nominee Eric Coble, we had good reason to expect that this sensitive subject—Parkinson’s disease—will be handled with just the right touch

It’s time for a new Christmas tradition! Instead of dragging out those tired reindeer, let’s get out the glitter machine and sparkle! Enter We Three Lizas: they don’t mean a thing if they ain’t got that bling

The Odd Couple opened in 1965, just as the Women’s Liberation Movement was gathering momentum. Neil Simon saw and capitalized on its comic potential. So did director BJ Jones, Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre

On Saturday night, October 27, the Terrell Stafford Quintet treated the audience at the Music Institute of Chicago in Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston to a live rendition of Stafford’s CD “This Side of Strayhorn”

S Wonderful! ‘S marvelous! that we could hear, see, laugh with, swoon and sway, snap and tap the evening away with not only the incomparable Michael Feinstein but also with Jeff Lindberg’s world-renowned Chicago Jazz Orchestra

On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9:30am, Back the Bid Day, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) will give you a chance to visualize the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics here in our home town, Chicago

"What could make a man cheat on his fiancée, drive his mother to tears, and ditch a good job? One woman — Carmen! She's the sex-bomb, gypsy seductress who loves them and leaves them — tossing egos and hearts in the dust"

What an unbeatable formula. Shakespeare. Verdi. Barbara Gaines, founder and artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Even though this was Gaines debut at the Lyric, there was never any doubt that she could bring out the Shakespeare in Verdi

Six scintillating, sexy, and sweet twenty-somethings sing Harold Arlen--the creator of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"--to our heart's delight. Go for the songs, the showmanship, the dinner. Get the whole Theo Ubique experience

Because the impact of 10 years of Chicago’s theater life has been so dramatic, it’s important that you, I, theatergoers and just plain lovers of Chicago stop and pay attention to what a handful of visionaries with the backing of one courageous mayor did. And are still doing

War with the Newts tells of the discovery of a highly-intelligent breed of newts enslaved and exploited by wealthy Czech industrialist, G.H. Bondy. These giant salamanders acquire human knowledge and rebel, leading to a global war for supremacy

Only opera could pull off the twists and turns this story takes. The complexity, the ingenious staging—the great singers, the light show and projections create an ethereal earthly setting and a ghastly otherworldly setting

At “In the Frosty Air,” this year’s holiday concert, we enjoyed the spectacular voices of The Lakeside Singers in their trademark jolly, joyous concert in two well-defined "acts" that even include a costume change to make sure we get it

On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9:30am, Back the Bid Day, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) will give you a chance to visualize the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics here in our home town, Chicago

Translated literally, pane caldo means warm bread. Now take that image of warmth, the staff of life and the comforting, nurturing emotions all that stirs in you and you’ll have a sense of the ambiance of Pane Caldo

By just reading this article, you can profit from our courtyard sale! Go to www.VistaPrint.com, order any of the many gorgeous products, mention chicago-splash.com and you’ll receive a 25% discount on your order!

Incubated by the Music Institute of Chicago, for ten years now, the Lakeside Singers have been bridging the worlds of classical and popular choral music by presenting a wide range of musical styles at the highest artistic level